U.S. to Reach Out to Iran for One-on-One Meeting

WASHINGTON—The U.S. is moving to raise the stakes of international talks next week in Kazakhstan, seeking to hold a one-on-one meeting with Tehran in a bid to accelerate nuclear diplomacy ahead of Iran’s presidential elections in June, according to American officials.

U.S. diplomats are skeptical Tehran will accept their offer to meet in Almaty as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s ultimate arbiter on foreign relations, has come out strongly in recent weeks against any direct dialogue between Tehran and Washington.

“They say, ‘Let us negotiate to force Iran to accept what we tell them,’ ” Khamenei said in a speech last Sunday in Tehran. “Such talks would be worthless. Such talks will lead nowhere.”

Still, U.S. and European officials said they believe Washington’s overtures are creating fissures within Iran’s political elite as the June presidential vote looms. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who can’t run for a new term, and Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi both have publicly indicated an openness to meet directly with the Americans.

Even if Tehran ultimately turns down the U.S. offer, Obama administration and European officials believe, pressure on Khamenei inside Iran and internationally could increase if he is seen as the main impediment to progress in the diplomacy over Iran’s nuclear program.

“If Iran says ‘yes,’ that would be great,” said a European diplomat working on Iran. “If not, we think they’ll be more isolated.”

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